In recent weeks he's been honored with the NBA's
"Sixth Man of the Year" award and subsequently vilified for a suspension, a
slump and a slew of off-court stories.

His play has been as erratic as his personal
life. Prior to elbowing Celtics guard Jason Terry in the third game of the
Knicks' first-round series, Smith was shooting nearly 50 percent from the
field. After his Game 4 suspension, however, the New Jersey native struggled to
approach even 30-percent accuracy.

But Smith's bizarre postseason script took
another twist in Thursday's Game 5 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers—a win
that pushed the series back to Indianapolis for Game 6.

Smith finished the victory with 13 points, six
rebounds, three steals and a block, ending his personal six-game skid; and he
did it amidst more off-court rumors.

In responding to a fan's comment on Instagram, Rihanna said that Smith—who was reportedly seen partying with the singer
following the Knicks' Game 2 win—has been "hungover
from clubbing every night during playoffs."

The accusation isn't
completely unfounded. Smith has fought the party animal image since before he joined the Knicks last season, and his recent battle with the flu was
originally rumored to be a misdiagnosed hangover.

Rihanna's comment has
since been removed from her Instagram account (though there are remnants - here's a link to a screenshot posted on another account - contains foul language) and Smith didn't add any fuel to the fire on Thursday.

"I'm not worried
about Instagram," Smith said. "I'm worried about the playoffs."

Smith—who didn't exactly give a denial to
the question about his perpetual hangover—made only 4 of 11 shots, but Knicks
coach Mike Woodson had no complaints after the game.

"I thought he was focused," Woodson said. "I
thought he did a lot of good things. He missed some shots that he normally
makes. But defensively, he has his hands filled when you got to go against
[Paul] George when I take Iman [Shumpert] out. Those are the things I'm looking
at in terms of how he's competing defensively. When he's got shots, you just
got to hope that he makes them. I have faith in him."

Smith hasn't completely shaken his shooting
slump. He made only 1 of 4 3-point attempts, but he was aggressive on both ends
of the floor Thursday night, and more importantly, he stayed competitive for 36
minutes.

As for what he did after the victory, we'll all have to follow Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more details.